What a Bear Needs (The Wild Side) by Nikki Winter Page A

breathed, cupping her face.
    Maddox pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose and murmured, “I’ll be here the entire time. I won’t leave you. I won’t lose—”
    She jerked away and tumbled to her back. A low rolling of a bay came from her throat, transforming into an all-out roar as the beast inside finally clawed its way out; overtaking her in one fell swoop. The fur on her hands spread while her bone structure realigned and mutated. Cree ripped away the shirt and her chest seemed to cave in before pushing outwards again. Every second looked agonizing, every second left him on edge and then there was silence.
    A black panther lay where the love of his life once was, its torso expanding with each breath. There was a soft chuff and then it was rolling to its side, large form adjusting once it got to its belly. Its muzzle rose from the floor as it seemed to suddenly notice his presence and stiffened, before casting that light stare his way.
    Maddox didn’t moved, didn’t even flinch. Cree was in there. No matter how deep it may have been, she was in there. He reminded himself of this fact repeatedly as the beast got to its feet and made a step in his direction. Without breaking the panther’s intent gaze, he rested against the side of Cree’s bed and waited. It assessed him.
    Tucking in his lips, he blew out a hard breath through his nostrils then simply said, “Hi.”
    The beast obviously had no interest in small talk because it lunged, pinning Maddox to the bed with its paws placed against his shoulders. Stiletto sharps claws extended but left the muscles unpierced.
    He then found himself staring up into irises so pale that the only things discernable were the pupils. A snarl that looked less than friendly in the pitch black of Cree’s bedroom and a weight pressing into his chest that was incredibly disconcerting, accompanied said irises.
    “Since I have a penis—no matter how small it may be at the moment because of what is currently occurring—I will  not  lose what little dignity I have left and scream,” he quietly said. A soft puff of air wafted across his temple. “It’s quite obvious that I don’t have much by way of options right now. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you’re studying me because I’m absolutely beautiful and not because you want to see what my thighs muscles taste like with a light seasoning of lemon pepper and a garnish of basil.”
    Maddox could clearly see that feline face, infinitely black, ears pressed to its skull, lip curled. “It really doesn’t matter what form Cree takes,” Maddox murmured. “That look of disgust and disdain is fully recognizable.”
    It watched him closely and yes, it looked as though it were weighing whether or not his death would be entertaining enough to hold its interest. “I take it you’re not here for possible spooning.”
    The panther leaned forward and he wondered how long he could keep up his comedy stylings before it got annoyed with his presence. He could always shift and slap it around but he’d risk hurting Cree and that just couldn’t happen.
    He drew in a slow deep breath, the muscles in his lower back screaming in protest of his falling asleep on furniture that was entirely too small for his much larger frame. If Maddox had a choice, Cree would’ve been in his bed, enjoying the dexterity of his mattress.
    Sadly, all he’d gotten accomplished was glaring at the ceiling and listening to her restless movements in the next room before eventually giving into the urge to make her acknowledge his presence. Some semblance of a truce had taken place between them, only for Maddox to have to deal with an overgrown Bombay making itself quite comfortable of his most vital parts.
    “On a scale of one to ten, how friendly are you , Mr. Cuddles?” he muttered, reaching out a hand. The snarl it emitted made him withdraw said rather hand quickly. “That would be a negative three eh? Was it the  mister  that caused offense?